Stopping cats pooing in your garden is easy!

Guess what the cat in that photo just did? That's right, he just did a big poo in my garden. That was taken around 3 months ago - since then, I've seen the cat (he's actually rather lovely), but he hasn't done any poos in my garden.

I made a number of simple changes to my garden to prevent him from pooing there, and I wanted to share some ideas with you if you've got a similar problem. Let's get into it:

Use Natural Deterrents

If this works for you, then it's the ideal solution because it's quick and easy to do. It didn't do wonders for me but people seem to have had luck with:

Citrus Peels: Scatter orange, lemon, or lime peels around the garden. The strong citrus scent is a natural deterrent for cats.

Coffee Grounds: Used coffee grounds can be spread around plants and garden beds. Not only do they repel cats, but they also enrich the soil.

Essential Oils: Dilute essential oils such as lavender, citronella, or eucalyptus with water and spray the mixture around the garden. Be sure to use these oils sparingly, as high concentrations can be harmful to cats.

Create a barrier

It sounds simple, but the best ideas often are - creating barriers can effectively prevent cats from accessing your garden.

Chicken Wire: Lay chicken wire on the soil around plants. Cats dislike walking on the uneven surface, which will discourage them from entering the area.

Fencing: Erecting a fence around your garden can be an effective barrier. Ensure it is tall enough and has no gaps through which cats can squeeze.

Plant Spacing: Planting closely spaced, thorny, or spiky plants like holly or roses can create natural barriers that cats will avoid.

Use simple gadgets

You can get something called a cat scat mat (great name) from Amazon for about a tenner - it's a mat that you can lay over any areas that you don't want cats to walk on (or poo on). They've got plastic spikes which cats will avoid (but they won't injure cats if they do decide to step on them, just give them a little prick). I have 2 of these in my garden and they've helped to keep cats away from my flowerbeds.

Use fancy gadgets

For those of you with a bigger budget (or a bigger cat poo problem), you might want to go for a slightly fancier gadget. There are gadgets like motion activated ultrasound cat scarers (that would be a great name for a band) on Amazon which you can get for about £30 and which are very highly rated. Luckily I didn't have to resort to one of these.

Try different soil

Cats like to poo on soft, loose soil as it's easier for them to dig (and probably more comfortable too). You could make some simple changes to the soil to make it seem less like the perfect kitty toilet:

Mulch: Use rough mulch like pinecones, bark chips, or stones. The texture is uncomfortable for cats to walk on.

Plant Ground Covers: Dense ground covers like thyme or chamomile create a thick mat that cats will avoid.

Give in and create a cat toilet in your garden!

If you feel like you've tried everything and there is just no winning, then often the best option is just to play the ultimate Reverse Uno card and actually create a cat toilet in your garden! A small sandbox in the corner of your garden will seem like the perfect toilet to any cats paying you visit, and once they spot it they'll leave the rest of your garden alone. It's not a perfect solution, but it's easy to implement and doesn't involve building a fence or spending money on gadgets!

Hopefully, we've given you some ideas as to what you can do if you've got cats pooing in your garden. Let us know your solutions!